"In the evening a strange
thing happened: the twenty families became one family, the children were the
children of all. The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the
West was one dream." (193)
In Chapter 17, the idea of family and unity is still alive because as they are travelling to the west many families become one family. For example, Jim Casy and Connie are not blood related to the Joads but since they are traveling together Casy has become part of their family. Everyone has the same dream of moving west to start a better life so they became "one". Being together, they can share and learn from each other. Surviving as a group is better than trying to survive individually.
Everyone from the Dust Bowl states including the Joads all envisioned a better life in California. They heard California is the Promise land and they can find work. Since the beginning of their trip, Ma has always been the one to keep the family unity alive. In Chapter 16 when the car broke down and Tom suggested for the rest of the family to move on without them while they get it fixed, Ma Joad got angry and will beat anyone with the jack handle if she is forced to separate. However as they reach California, the idea of unity changes. Connie decides to leave the rest of the family when they are in California because he wants to do his own thing so he left Rose of Sharon and the other Joads. Instead of looking for him, the Joads decided to travel on without him and possibly he would come back for them. As they travel further, more people are separating from the Joads and the unity starts disappearing.
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